


Empty Spaces

by ElAlmaDelMar



Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [14]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, a/b/o if you squint i guess, mostly soulmates tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27019126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElAlmaDelMar/pseuds/ElAlmaDelMar
Summary: In the back of his mind, he thought he could hear Cora-san's laughter.I told you so, Law. I told you. And here you are.A/B/O/tober Day 14: Destined soulmates
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy/Trafalgar D. Water Law
Series: A/B/O/tober 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947415
Comments: 3
Kudos: 233
Collections: A/B/O/tober 2020





	Empty Spaces

"Someday, Law," Cora-san said quietly, a curl of smoke rising from his cigarette. "Someday, you're going to meet someone. And they'll smell amazing to you. Their scent, whatever it is… it will reach down to your very soul. And that person who smells so good to you? They'll be the person you need most in life. They'll fill all your empty spaces, and you'll fill theirs." 

Law was busy pretending to be asleep. Cora-san clearly didn't believe it, but it saved him the burden of trying to find an answer. Why talk to him about the future? He had no future. No one wanted to treat him. He was going to die and that would be the end of it. He'd never meet this nice-smelling person. 

And even if he did, well, he didn't believe in happy endings anymore.

* * *

Fourteen years later, Law watched Monkey D. Luffy punch a Celestial Dragon in the face, and tried not to breathe through his nose. It didn't help much; the scent that had filled his nostrils the moment the Straw Hat Pirates arrived at the auction wouldn't be ignored so easily. He'd breathed it in and found himself transfixed. No human being could smell so — so _right_. Every comparison he tried to draw — savory meals, the fresh sea air, flowers, fine alcohol — they all paled in comparison, all seemed dreadfully inadequate. 

In the back of his mind, he thought he could hear Cora-san's laughter. 

_I told you so, Law. I told you. And here you are._

He reminded himself firmly that they were a crew of nearly a dozen and he had no way to be fully sure of which of them carried that exquisite scent, but he knew — he _knew_ , deep down in his heart, on a level that no amount of intellectualizing or logic could ever touch. 

He'd found his soulmate.

* * *

And not long after that, he was up to his elbows in that soulmate's chest, desperately trying to keep him alive as the _Polar Tang_ sailed away from Marineford at full speed, diving deep to escape any deadly pursuit. 

The OR stank of blood and bile, of seared flesh and bone. His sense of smell really should be shutting itself down in pure self defense. But underneath all the horror, he could still smell a thin thread of _Luffy_ , that same wondrous, entrancing scent from before. It taunted him, that scent — reminded him that he was the Surgeon of _Death_ , not of life. Death haunted his footsteps, claimed everyone to whom he let himself become attached. If history was anything to go by, Luffy was going to die here on the operating table before him. That was the inevitable course of his life. 

_Don't you fucking dare,_ he ordered the unconscious boy, the thought tucked away in a wayward corner of his mind as he focused on repairing the tremendous damage the Marines had dealt to him. _Not before I've figured out what to fucking do with you._

When the surgery finished and Luffy still breathed, he felt as though some great corner had been turned in the path of his life. He couldn't have described the sensation if pressed, and didn't want to rest too much weight on what might very well be nothing more than the giddiness of exhausted relief. But something — some instinct — whispered in the depths of his heart. 

_Things will be different now._

* * *

He left Luffy behind on Amazon Lily and told himself firmly he would never see him again.

* * *

"Hey, Torao," Luffy said, flopping into a boneless sprawl on the _Thousand Sunny_ 's deck beside Law. "Has anyone ever told you you smell really good?" 

"No." Law didn't bother to look at Luffy. They were only a few hours out from Dressrosa, and the tension in his chest was rising to a fever pitch. His carefully laid plan had been disrupted, and he'd been forced to improvise it on the fly when the Straw Hat crew had come crashing onto Punk Hazard. Now, he could see a road forward to victory, but he knew — he _knew_ that things weren't going to go according to plan. Not with Luffy in the thick of it all. He could only hope to pull together what he could and try to will it all to victory. 

And damn it, two years of distance had done nothing to tamp down the way Luffy's smell called to him. Could he really be the person Law would need most in life? It seemed like the purest insanity. He was — he was reckless, he was too damn trusting, he was the most un-captainly captain and most un-alpha alpha Law had ever met. If Law had ever thought about what his destined other half should be like, he would have thought it would be someone like himself — cunning, ruthless, cold. Not… this. 

"Oh. Well. You do." Luffy shrugged. "There. Now someone's told you." 

"So you have." It was easier, he thought, if he acted like it meant nothing to him. Until Doflamingo was brought down, he had no business getting distracted by anything else. Not even a scent that promised all the good things in life.

* * *

Zuneisha loomed vast over them; they had not yet reached the elephant's leg, but it was close — the _Thousand Sunny_ was visible by one enormous leg, and in an hour or so, they'd be there. It would be good to get off this ship and back among his crew. He hadn't thought he'd ever see them again, and he found himself looking forward to their faces with a warm anticipation. It would be good. To be among them without feeling his driving underlying urge, knowing that everything he did was with one singular goal in mind — what would that feel like? 

Sweet-rich-good scent swirled around him, and a moment later, Luffy joined him at the rail, hopping up to sit on it with no visible care for the ocean that lapped hungrily below, ready to swallow an unwary devil's-fruit eater. "Hey, Torao." He paused there, looking at Law expectantly. 

"Hm?" 

"What are you gonna do now?" 

"Reunite with my crew." 

"No, I mean." Luffy waved a hand. "We helped you like you asked for. Gettin' Mingo taken care of… that was the big thing you wanted, right? So what're you gonna do next?" 

It was a valid question — surprisingly valid, especially coming from Luffy, who never seemed to think ahead farther than the next meal. 

"I don't know." Law shrugged, looking down at the dark water below them. "I don't think it matters, really." 

"Keep sailing with me." 

It shouldn't be a surprise. The thought had been swirling in Law's mind. Things would be quiet if he took his crew and went his separate way from Luffy. There would be calm. Things would be under control again. It would be quiet. 

He didn't want it. 

"I'm your rival," he pointed out. "We could go for the Pirate King's treasure too." 

"Shishishi. It'd be funny if you did. And that would mean we'd sail in the same direction anyway, right?" Luffy leaned toward him, wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "I like having you around. So keep sailing with me." 

It was on the tip of his tongue to argue that just because Luffy liked having him around didn't mean the reverse was true — but it _was_ , wasn't it? He did like it. For all Luffy was exasperating, exhausting, unpredictable, impulsive… 

No, Law liked having him around very much. 

"I'll think about it," he said. But in truth, his decision was already made.

**Author's Note:**

> Not very A/B/O, I'll admit. But I do always love a good soulmate trope. 
> 
> Come chat with me on my [Discord server](https://discord.gg/SWVYBBn)!


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